OB Rag

By Richard Allyn / CBS8 / October 22, 2025

With less than two weeks until California’s special election on Prop 50 [on November 4], a new CBS News poll released on Wednesday reveals that 62% of likely voters support the ballot measure, which would redraw the state’s congressional lines in ways that would make it easier for Democrats to win five districts currently held by Republicans.

The poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 registered California voters, shows a significant jump in support compared to earlier polls that put backing in the low 50s. However, according to Governor Gavin Newsom, the ultimate outcome depends on voter participation.

“Polls don’t vote, people vote. And this is a special election. I’m not naive, it is about turn-out, period, full-stop,” said Newsom.

The CBS News poll reveals starkly different motivations between supporters and opponents of the measure. Among those voting yes, 75% say it is a way to oppose President Donald Trump, and 70% cite opposition to national Republicans.

Mildred Falls Part of 58-Acres Bought by San Diego River Park Foundation

by Tainá Fonseca / Times of San Diego / Oct. 26, 2025

The San Diego River Park Foundation has successfully purchased a 58-acre parcel from a private owner, the organization announced this week.

Why is that important?

Because that land includes the one and only Mildred Falls, San Diego County’s tallest waterfall, located about five miles west of the Pine Hills community. Its dramatic cascade drops roughly 300 feet to where Ritchie Creek plunges toward the San Diego River.

This is a huge accomplishment for the San Diego River Park Foundation, especially as Scenic Treasure Ritchie Creek is a key tributary to the San Diego River.

Ownership of Mildred Falls will help the foundation protect a golden eagle nest, a California gnatcatcher habitat, southwestern pond turtles, arroyo toads, cougars, and other large mammals.

More than 250 donors raised more than $300,000 to buy the property. With the sale closed, the waterfall and surrounding land are now conserved and held in trust for the public.

by Ernie McCray

Looking at our president
as he maniacally spoke
to his generals and admirals
reminded me it’s time for us to invoke
the 25th Amendment
and send him on his un-merry way
because it addresses
removing from office
those who are mentally incapacitated
and this man we’ve got
is losing it in real time
all the time every day –
in a batshit crazy kind of way,

Associated Press – CBS8 / October 27, 2025

Nearly 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, referred to as SNAP, will not receive federal benefits next month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed in a new notice that no SNAP funds will be distributed on Nov. 1. The news puts a strain on families across the country as the government shutdown drags on.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”

The government shutdown, now the second longest in U.S. history, has entered its fourth week with no end in sight. It’s not clear whether the pause in the program will shift anything in the negotiations to reopen the government.

However, the news of the SNAP benefits pause is leaving beneficiaries, states and food banks scrambling for ways to fill the gaps.

From Aguirre & Severson, LLP Law Firm

On Friday, October 24, San Diego County Judge James A. Mangione set the trial date of May 1, 2026, for the San Diego Superior Court lawsuit to void the trash tax San Diego City officials imposed on 224,000 San Diego homeowners. (Brown v. LaCava, case number 25CU025589C). Judge Mangione set the trial at least six days to try all the issues in the case.

San Diego homeowners, represented by attorneys at Aguirre & Severson, LLP, allege that the solid waste collection fee increases imposed by the City of San Diego violate California Constitution Article XIII(D) (The Right to Vote on Taxes Act). The alleged Constitutional violations are:

US Reps Vargas, Peters, Padilla, Jacobs and Levin Refused Entry

by City News Service – Times of San Diego / Oct. 27, 2025

A delegation of legislators representing San Diego County was once again refused entry to the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse on Monday as they attempted to conduct oversight on an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention center.

Reps. Juan Vargas and Scott Peters, both San Diego Democrats, were refused entry a week ago. On Monday, they were joined by fellow Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla,, Rep. Sara Jacobs, and Rep. Mike Levin, and were again refused entry, the lawmakers said.

“As members of Congress, we have the right and the responsibility to enter detention sites in order to conduct oversight without prior authorization,” Vargas said.

“Today, we were again blocked from entering. If nothing is wrong here, why are we not allowed in? What is ICE hiding? We came here to confirm that the law is being followed.

By Lawrynce Cecio

A new grant proposal, approved by the County Board of Supervisors, seeks a $100 million state grant to construct a “behavioral health wellness campus.” The facility would be built on county-owned land in Point Loma next to the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital, replacing a vacant complex on Rosecrans Street, with the capacity to serve approximately 20,000 people per year.

This proposal addresses an extreme and growing need. In the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos Metro area, 323,000 people (11.6 percent of those aged 12 or older) were classified as having a substance use disorder in the past year; a rate higher than both California (9.6%) and the national average (9%).

The campus is designed to alleviate intense strain on local systems, where psychiatric units are consistently full and emergency departments are overcrowded. By offering integrated care for mental health and substance abuse, the facility aims to reduce hospital bed usage and dependence on law enforcement for crisis response.

By Joni Halpern

It is helpful growing old. The piling of decades of lived history and knowledge obtained over time gives a person a more holistic view of our national character. It becomes easier to see in today’s tapestry of American life the threads of earlier inclinations that resemble what we are now.

Today we are “cavalier,” a word that describes someone haughty or arrogant, someone with a careless disregard for serious matters.

We might have been described that way in our past as we annihilated the Native Americans; enslaved and brutalized Africans and their American-born descendants; exploited the Asian, European and Latin American immigrants who lived in poverty while staffing our factories and farms, or when we engaged in certain wars against
nations not out of necessity but out of our own hubris.

A new television pilot shot around Ocean Beach and featuring local musicians, “End of the 8”,  will have a public screening. It will be at The Harp — 4935 Newport Avenue in OB. Doors open at 6pm, screening at 8. Wednesday, October 29, 2025.

Editordude: This is another post as part of the Rag’s response to a U-T commentary about lifting the coastal 30 foot height limit.

by Judy Swink

It’s ironic that the writer of the Op-Ed is from La Jolla given that the campaign to create a 30’ coastal height limit for the City of San Diego began in La Jolla with outrage over construction of 939 Coast Blvd., the high rise towering above the coast near the Children’s Pool. It was La Jollans who put out the “call to arms”, joined by many other San Diegans, resulting in Proposition D, the citizens ballot initiative approved in 1972 by 63.06% (186,007) of voters citywide. Votes against were just 36.94% (108,968).

According to a 2022 piece in the OB Rag, 80% of voters in Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach voted in favor of Prop D.

Several amendments to the Coastal Height Limit Overlay Zone have been put to voters since 1972. In 1988, an amendment to allow restoration of the chimney and rooftop cupola of the 1915 Mission Brewery (Hancock @Washington St), voters agreed by 74.10%. In 1998, a different Prop. D to enable Sea World to exceed the 30-foot height limit (to a height not to exceed ½ the height of the Sea World Tower), squeaked by with 50.73% following misleading claims that approval would enhance Sea World’s programs for research and rescue of sea life.

From San Diego 350

Young people called on lawmakers, including SD Council President LaCava, to pass the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act to protect schools and communities.

On Friday, October 24, over 1,000 students from 19 schools across San Diego and thousands from 50 California middle schools, high schools, and colleges walked out of class in a coordinated statewide action demanding that oil and gas companies be held accountable for the damage caused by their pollution.

Organized by youth climate groups and advocacy organizations including Youth v. Oil and SanDiego350 in partnership with the Make Polluters Pay campaign, the walkouts spanned San Diego County — with major events at Hilltop High School, Pacific Beach Middle School, University City High School, Eastlake High School, La Jolla High School, and Otay Ranch High School.

“Californians are already reeling from wildfires, floods, and extreme heat. We’re taking to the streets to demand passage of the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act to send a clear message that we won’t let Big Oil continue to destroy our futures,” said Diego Sandoval, senior at Eastlake HS in Chula Vista.